Huckelberry Asked: “Why Only One Side” Of Prop 463 Road Bond Debate

Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry explained how the County "launders the money" on September 20, 2018 to the Green Valley Council.

It had become obvious to Green Valley residents that Pima County administrator Chuck Huckelberry and his crew made an appearance to sell the road bond:

Yes, Pima County residents wanted to know why they were only getting one side of the story. It is a good question. I can’t answer for Chuck, but I can give you the other side.

During election season we see a number of television and radio commercials telling us why we should or should not support a candidate for a given office. The candidates for higher offices such as US Senator and US Representative understandably receive a lot of attention during the weeks running up to election day. However, there are also a number of ballot propositions that have a direct influence on our state, county, and cities which we must understand to vote the correct way.

In 2015, the voters of Pima county were faced with over $800,000,000 in bond measures, and the voters correctly voted down those ballot measures. However, the Pima County Board of Supervisors and the County Administrators are now trying to feed us this incredible debt in two spoonfuls instead of one. There is already a plan to float another bond in a few years for another 430 million dollars – putting Pima county nearly a Billion dollars in debt.

Proposition 463 proposes to fix our county roads, and with 70% of our roads being in failed condition, the powers that be feel with a $430,000,000 price tag, more people might support it. Pima County is wrong and Proposition 463 will go down in defeat again – some people just don’t learn.

There are a number of arguments against Prop 463, but the Green Valley Council is endorsing the proposition. The Green Valley Council receives $75,000/year from the county – is it legal for them to support any proposition put forth by the county?

There is no part of the county’s 1.3 billion dollar annual budget to maintain our roads – we can maintain the roads cheaper than we can repair them – more than 70% of Pima county roads are in failed condition – it has taken consistent lack of concern for 20+ years for the roads to get to their current state.

The state provides a significant amount of money each year for the county’s road maintenance – $92,000,000 in the most recent year. Of that money $24 million is moved to the general fund, $19 million goes to pay interest in the current road bonds, and $40 million goes to pay the majority of the $43 million dollar annual Pima county transportation budget – hardly any money has gone to maintain our roads.

The road condition problem is not a problem with revenue, it is a spending problem, and is a problem with setting proper priorities. We didn’t need to spend money on:

• Building World View leasing it and to them for less than market value

• Buying a golf course and forgiving a $100,000 tax debt

• Giving $100,000 to American Airlines

• Buying a bowling alley for more than appraised value – then allowing the current owner to use the property for a year rent free and then pay to remove the bowling alleys although they must have been included in the appraised value

We only need an estimated $34,000,000/year to maintain our roads out of a 1.3 billion dollar budget with the State of Arizona providing $92,000,000 specifically for our roads. We can maintain our roads without raising taxes and going into debt.

They say your taxes won’t go up, but they will – they have to. The county is playing fast and loose with the math – nothing is free.. Vote NO on prop 463.

Visit StopProp463.com to learn more and to donate your money to this worthy effort.

16 Comments

I cannot in good conscience remotely support this measure as it is painfully obvious that Pima county has a obscene spending problem not a revenue problem.
Sadly no amount of money will ever fix this problem. In fact kicking the can is just gonna make it worse for the next generation as we shackle them with even greater debt. Dingleberry and his puppets on the board can justify this measure all they want, but yet another cash infusion isn’t gonna help change anything to fix the runaway stupidity as long as 3.5 idiots still hold power on the board.
3.5 idoits who truly believe that the people’s money is not sacred, but instead makes up their own personal slush fund to with what they please.
It reminds me of the old wheel of fortune hosted by Chuck Woolery. Where winners soon became losers blowing thier winnings buying overpriced eye candy crap like a run down bowling alley, an abandoned golf course and a balloon space port. It’s past high time the 3.5 idiot majority on the board acted like accountable public servants and not like irresponsible awe struck children with existing public funding.
I cannot and will not vote for any further funding increase to Pima county until I finally get what I’ve already paid for. I would encourage anyone with half a brain to also reject this latest attempt to further rip off the tax payers of Pima county with yet another whopper lie of what will happen by a group of corrupt morons who’s only track record is over shadowed by what won’t happen.

On October 16, 2018 at Fronimo’s Greek Café, the Pima County Libertarian Party will host a discussion on Prop. 463. We meet at 6PM for dinner and conversation. Joseph Boogaart will give a presentation, starting at about 7PM and lasting about half an hour. After the presentation there will be discussion on the issue – all opinions welcome, civility is required, and the PCLP will vote on a resolution to oppose or accept the Proposition. By ARS Title 16, only PCLP Precinct Committee members can vote but I welcome civil discussion.

I will definitely Vote No on this Prop, “Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice, shame on me”! I refuse to be taken in by a lot of these propositions and the liars trying to sell them. I am sick of getting taxed to death. “In this world nothing is certain but Death and taxes”! and death is beginning to look good, too good.
All kidding aside, we have got to let these public servant know they work for us and we are not happy. No No and hell No!

BTW – what happen to the last road money that was given them, they built a balloon space port, with “how many booked and paying flights now”? How much revenue has this project made for the county tax payer money spent?

Don`t be fooled, Huckleberry is acting as the tool of the Democratic majority on the Board of Supervisors and is being used to do the political campaigning necessary to sell THEIR bond proposal. This is a highly questionable use of a County Administrator`s time given that he is paid by all of us to administer the County, not to be a political spokesman for the Democratic Party to get bond propositions passed. As a County Administrator, he may recommend the use of bonding to the Board but it is highly improper for him to campaign for passage of the bonds, a political not an administrative function. The last annual amount we received from the state for the repair of Pima County roads, HURF funding, was $92 million but the Pima Board majority used only about $7,000,000 of that amount for actual road repairs. On the other hand, if we spend all of our HURF funding on road repair (the amount is pretty much the same year after year) as this road repair funding from the state is meant to be used, we would have about $920,000,000 to spend on road repair over the next 10 years, the life of the proposed bonds AND there would be no interest charged to taxpayer`s on these funds as there will be if road repairs are financed with 10 year bonds. The Democrat majority on the Board, which put this bond proposition on the ballot, rather than use the HURF funds specifically meant FOR road repair ON road repair, instead want to use these state road repair funds for things like financing World View, a private for profit business started by their friends who could not get bank financing and the purchase of things like a bowling-alley for which there is no need AT ALL, let alone a need more important than County road repairs for which property taxes ARE properly assessed and paid. As long as we have a Democrat majority on the Board who believe our taxes are a source to finance their personal projects rather than for the government services for which they are intended, this irresponsible spending will go on, so please vote no on all bonds and tax increases until we have a Pima Board of Supervisors who will not spend our tax dollars on their improper pet projects and for the benefit of their friends and campaign donors but for the government services intended.

In my opinion, it is legal malfeasance for Green Valley Council to support or promote Prop 463, along with an increase in gas taxes or a new sales tax but they continue to do all three! With $75,000 annually in taxpayer money to sustain an entity with almost %85 of budgeted expenses administrative, we are not getting a return on value.

Arizona: Tucson
• Population: 530,690
• Median home value: $144,000
• Poverty rate: 24.1 percent
• Violent crimes per 100,000 people: 800
The typical household in Tucson, Arizona, earns just $40,021 a year, less than three-quarters the median income of $53,558 across the state as a whole. The impact of low incomes is evident in the high share of area residents living in poverty. Of the over half a million people living in Tucson, 24.1 percent live below the poverty line, the highest poverty rate of any city in the state.
Not only is Tucson the poorest city in Arizona, but also it is the most dangerous. There were 4,245 violent crimes in the city in 2016, or 800 for every 100,000 people. For comparison, there were 470 violent crimes per 100,000 people statewide in 2016.

As for the violence, yes welcome the illegals and the bums and give them more and more to be here and this is what we end up with. The worst in the state and the most CORRUPT politicians that can be bought for the lowest price.